Small ball isn’t Edgewood’s forte. Explosive plays were its difference maker.
For much of Friday night’s 40-20 win over C. Milton Wright, the Rams struggled to string together plays for a complete offensive drive. Their defense similarly let would-be short runs extend into first downs and beyond.
However, enough crowd-stirrers improved Edgewood to 2-0.
“It’s high school football,” Rams coach Keith Rawlings laughed. “You just hope that you can grow week by week and get better. Then you’re able to produce on those [designed] run plays but yeah there were some special plays.”
The one that opened the host Rams’ final lead came at the hands of Mike Robinson, his first of two rushing scores. The junior quarterback scrambled out of the pocket, made a man miss and streaked up the left sideline for a 57-yard, tie-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Each touchdown before that sang a similar tune.
There was a pick-6 from Tevonte Williams, a house call that the junior picked off at midfield to put Edgewood on the board. Later in the second quarter, Robinson was patient in the pocket before slinging a deep ball on the run to a wide open Jeremiah Smith for a 70-yard touchdown. Then another to open the second half.
“Did you see that one?” Rawlings beamed. “That was Mike’s brother down the sideline where he put the move and went down the sideline on the hitch. That kid’s a freshman. He’s gonna be special.”
The fourth-year coach was recalling Robinson’s pass to his younger brother, Malachi Robinson. The lone freshman on the varsity roster zoomed 65 yards up the left sideline in the third quarter. Rawlings predicts he’ll be a big-time recruit.
“We got talent here, we gotta be able to do that,” Rawlings said of his team’s explosive-play ability. “We gotta be able to get them the ball.”
The Mustangs returned serve with a pair of explosive plays of their own. Sophomore Anthony Frank broke from the pile at the line of scrimmage and scorched for 50-yard rushing touchdowns on back-to-back drives.
A 20-20 tie after three quarters unraveled when Edgewood found its groove in stacking first downs and chewing clock. Mike Robinson scored twice, crediting his offensive line for buying him an extra couple seconds to make a play. Junior Jayden Harvin punched in another.
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“We are a second-half team but that needs to change,” said senior Quintin Williams, who recorded a pair of interceptions. “Something needs to click cause every second half something clicks in our head. We need to start on the gas, foot on their neck.”
Some of the tide-switching nature of the fourth quarter was a result of a halftime conversation about controlling the line of scrimmage. They talked about being physical. Edgewood couldn’t win solely on the long ball. Rawlings said, as much as anything, he was relieved by the big throws because of the way his team’s offense stumbled in the run game.
He smirked at the idea of a maddening juxtaposition between watching his run game falter one play and an explosive pickup the next. Not being able to click on the little things but impressing with the big ones.
Although dazzling, and the reason the Rams kept a tie after three quarters, it was their success in the trenches that separated them in the fourth, scoring three unanswered touchdowns.
Being capable of both – a more malleable offense – that’s the identity they’re chasing.
“If you wanna go deep in the playoffs,” Rawlings said, “you gotta stop the run and you gotta run the doggone ball.”
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